I'm Beryl Ankokuno. As you know, I'm the pretty owner of La Crepe Shop who definitely never hears voices in her head! But it's not easy, you know. I have to make enough money to put us in the black before rent is due, but to do that, I need to come up with a viable business model! Oh, man! But anyhow, we've got four employees trying to do that now, so it'll work out somehow.
"Ugh!" Zoisite grimaced. "I can't believe that worthless piece of trash Nephrite forgot to alphabetize the toppings again! Beryl, didn't you tell him to get his act together when you two closed last night?"
"I did not close last night. It was Jadeite and Nephrite's shift," I replied, stirring my pot of batter as usual.
"Then can you tell him when you close tonight?"
"I do not close anymore."
"Why?"
"My reasons do not need to be explained."
"Just tell him sometime, then! Honestly, you ought to kick him to the curb, he's such a terrible employee."
"Silence, Zoisite."
I wasn't about to tell him that I no longer felt comfortable working in the shop at night. It wasn't just because my two late shift employees might be criminals—after all, the afternoons were no better on that count. I had thought separating Nephrite and Zoisite would fix my problems, but sometimes I thought Zoisite might stab me with a paring knife if I so much as looked in Kunzite's general direction.
No, the problem was the hole in the back wall. The laughter I'd begun to hear grew louder and more frequent at night, and I would go home and dream of opening the doors to see a shadowy face grinning out at me. It was getting too difficult to hide from my employees. I didn't worry about Jadeite thinking I was crazy, but Nephrite seemed likely to stage a coup if I showed any sign of weakness.
Not that the voice was silent during the day. But it was manageable. I was fine. Everything was fine. Just had to stir the pot. Stir, stir, stir. The spoon through the batter traced the shape of tunnels descending into hell. Stir, stir, stir. A smile crawled across the batter, a mouth opened to swallow me whole—
"It's him!" Zoisite hissed. "Quick, how's my hair?"
"Your hair looks as it always does, Zoisite," Kunzite replied.
I dragged my mind back to reality. Across the street, I spotted the source of the commotion: that gorgeous medical student was approaching our shop. He was wearing an infuriating black Armani tuxedo, confirming my suspicion that he was the owner of our main competitor, Tuxedo Crepes.
He sidled up to the window, cool and full of confidence. "Hey there. How's business today?" He glanced down at my full pot of batter. "Never mind. I always say there's rubbish for every trash pile, but it looks like you might be the exception. But hey, over at Tuxedo Crepes we've been so swamped with customers that we're looking into acquiring a second location. I could make you a very appealing offer—not that it would take much, with how this place has been tanking. What do you say?"
I stared into his ocean-blue eyes, and for a moment, I wanted to agree. Wouldn't that solve all my problems? I wouldn't have to deal with these employees, wouldn't have to make difficult business decisions, wouldn't have to worry about the impending monthly rent…
But I set my jaw and stood up straight. "Never!" I spat, louder than I had meant to. "Owning my own crepe shop is my dream! No matter how hard I have to fight, I will never surrender that dream to the likes of you!"
《Good. It would not be fitting for one such as you to kneel before this pathetic human.》
I whirled around toward the source of the voice. "What did you say? Who was that?" But Kunzite and Zoisite just looked at me. I turned back to the tuxedo-clad medical student, anger and embarrassment and fear and determination all churning together inside me, and hissed, "Mark my words. The next time you see me, I'll make you kneel and beg to join me. You'll regret your arrogance then."
The medical student threw his hands up. "Whoa, chill. It's just business." I glared at him until he backed away. It was only then that I noticed the cackling in the back of my mind.
My employees stood still for a moment. Then Kunzite said, quietly, "I have sensed a strange aura emanating from the doors in the back of the shop."
Zoisite gasped. "You said that was going to be our little secret!"
"It is not time for secrets. Chef Beryl, what is behind those doors?"
I took a deep breath. "I…am not sure. It did not seem wise to go in alone."
"Then we should all investigate together. Tonight, at closing time. I am sure the others have noticed as well."
"To-tonight?" I stammered. But recalling the strength of the previous confrontation, I nodded. "Yes. Tonight."
No moon shone over the streets of Juuban district that night, and for some reason, I knew that meant it was the right time to act. The five of us had closed the shop early and stood gathered in the seating area.
"Are we ready?" I asked. The others nodded. Their usual bickering had ceased. Now that the moment was upon us, my fear had fled, replaced by a perfect calm and a growing hunger to know. I reached out with a steady hand, tore away the Employees Only sign, and threw open the doors.
《Come,》 the familiar voice whispered.
"Yes," I replied. I knelt and lowered myself into the tunnel. I heard the others following, but they faded into the background of my awareness. Everything for me was forward, down, further in, closer.
《Closer,》 the voice said.
"Yes," I replied. The cold wind blew fiercely now, and the meager light from the store had long since disappeared, but I did not stop. Darkness was my friend, cold my companion. Had I not led an army across the frigid void by the sheer power of my iron will? Was this not my dominion to rule?
What about your dreams? What will happen to your crepe shop?
I stopped. My head twitched to look back. I did not know where I was going but I knew that I would never return. Was I really going to abandon my life's work so easily?
《This is your life's work. Come to me and accept it,》 the voice commanded.
"Yes," I replied. My feet carried me into a desolate throne room, and I stopped and knelt. A shadow stretched out within the darkness. It touched my forehead, and my eyes were opened, and I knew good and evil, and my place within them.
I stood and turned to the four behind me. "My four Heavenly Kings, accept your mission! Bring me human energy. Reawaken our great leader. Fill the world with darkness."
As one, they bowed before me. "Yes, my queen!"